I've just been reading through........700 odd quid!!
Gone are the days when I could read the bottom line and then chant "custom, on the first day of every." It has to be said that I really didn't need any glasses at all, but having turned sixty, my seat had to be set back to front row cabin.
When I went back to flying after a long break, I was dismayed to find that I needed just a tad of correction to see the CRTs perfectly focused. Also, before my hands were falling on the overhead knobs with confidence, I also needed to look up and read the squitty writing...just to be sure.
Solution, a pair of big framed ready-readers for five quid and a Dremmel machine. I cut out a strip that gave me a good view out of the windshield--leaving some valid lens up and a lot for the panel. There's a few folk who will recall my specs.
They worked really well, but when I decided to have a proper pair made, I went for a large frame with small x3 for the Jeps at really close range. The main part of the lens was focused at panel distance and good for critical approaches in poor lighting. Looking up to land, I would just slip them down my nose and look over. The good thing was that it left my eyes relaxed at the correct focus for landing.
The serious problem with small vari-focals is the hourglass profile of the magnified area--being rather narrow in the centre. Looking to the side seems to change the focus too much for me, but I have only tried approximations on test.
